Unbound: Deleted Scenes
by xLonely Soldierx
Summary: One-shots based on my main story, "Unbound". Enjoy! :D UPDATED, FINALLY!
1. Chapter 1

_Hi everyone! I'm back again and I have a something new for you. Introducing __**Unbound Deleted Scenes**__! This is gonna be a collection of one-shot stories steaming from my main story. It's actually an idea that formed in my mind when one of my precious reviewers gave me a really cool suggestion in a review she left me (thank you, CalicoUmbreon!) So, if you guys feel so moved to do so, shoot me some ideas for one-shots, and I, of course, will be coming up with some ideas as well. Anywho, I really hope you guys enjoy this, and hopefully it will be the first out of many!_

_A/N: I still don't own Bleach…_

* * *

**Unbound Deleted Scene #1:**

"**Video Game Therapy"**

Jinta's panicked cry echoed throughout the shop. The red-headed boy dashed down the hallway and into the dining area where Urahara, Tessai, and Renji sat around the table talking.

"Gotta hide, gotta hide…" he chanted frantically.

"What'd you do this time?" Renji asked, his monotonous tone making his question sound more like a statement. "I'm telling you, Jinta, you're gonna mess around and get yourself killed if you don't quit bothering Grimmjow."

"It was a stupid joke, geez." Jinta shot back. "Now instead of wasting your breath scolding me, how about helping me hide –"

"Little brat!" Grimmjow's voice boomed from down the hallway, startling Jinta so that he easily jumped about four feet in the air.

Yelping, the boy hurriedly darted into the kitchen. Seconds later, Grimmjow stormed into the dining area; his cerulean eyes scoured the entirety of the room.

"Where is that little shit hiding?" he growled under his breath.

Renji glanced up at the seething Espada, and immediately started snickering. "Damn…what the hell did he do to you? Is that…is that shaving cream in your hair?"

Grimmjow's rage began to spike at the thought of the foamy white stuff he discovered in his hair when he woke up that morning and the infuriating little brat he found giggling at his door. His fists clenched until his knuckles turned white as he visibly started trembling, resembling a volcano about to blow its top.

"I'm gonna blow that little bastard to hell…"

"Ummm…"

Everyone's attention turned to the kitchen door where Takuya now stood stiffly. The girl wore a slightly apprehensive expression as her eyes immediately found Grimmjow.

"Uh…I'm not exactly sure what's going on, but Jinta –"

"D-Don't make a single move, Grimmjow, or I swear she'll get it." Jinta said, trying unsuccessfully to sound as intimidating as he could; he held Takuya by her forearm and inched her forward. "You know you're not supposed to let anything bad happen to her, s-so don't even try to come at me."

Grimmjow glared at the red-headed boy, incredulity mixing in with his angered expression. "So you would put her in danger right in front of me just to try and save _your_ ass…huh, idiot?"

Jinta opened his mouth to retort but all that came out were unintelligible rambles; that one conveniently forgotten detail had eluded him until now. "U-ummm, well…uhhh…"

Making use of the boy's confusion, Grimmjow quickly proceeded to close the distance between them. Jinta, seeing the Espada suddenly advancing on him, attempted to push Takuya into him. In one swift move, Grimmjow effortlessly caught the ebony-haired girl, moved her out of his way, and clamped his large hand around the fleeing boy's arm, lifting him up so that his feet no longer made contact with the ground. Jinta panicked, trying desperately to free himself from Grimmjow's vice-like grip. A sadistic grin curved the Espada's lips.

"You're mine now, annoying son of a bitch…" he hissed preparing to pound the boy into a bloody mess.

"Grimmjow, there's actually something I need to give to you." Urahara suddenly said, drawing the Espada's attention, his fist hovering precariously about an inch away from Jinta's face.

Grimmjow glared irritably ate the shopkeeper as he stood up from the table and disappeared into the hallway; he released his death grip on Jinta, allowing him to drop to the ground and scurry over to where Tessai and Renji sat at the table. A few seconds later, Urahara returned carrying a small black device.

"This is for you." he said, placing the device into Grimmjow's hand.

The Espada stared down at the object in his hand. "The hell is this supposed to be?"

Urahara cleared his throat before speaking again. "This is…"

"MINE!" Jinta suddenly shouted out. "THAT'S MINE!"

The boy then lunged forward to try and swipe it from Grimmjow, but was immediately stopped by Tessai, who'd reached out and pulled him backward.

"Urahara what are you doing?" Jinta yelled as he struggled to get away from Tessai. "You can't give him that, it's mine!"

The shopkeeper looked at the boy, the slightest hint of seriousness visible in his hooded expression. "Nope, as of right now, that belongs to Grimmjow." he said. "Since you seem so fond of getting on the bad side of a guy who could easily kill you with the flick of a finger, I decided to voluntarily employ your possession to help him get a handle on that temper of his."

He then looked back at Grimmjow. "As I started to say before, this object is called a _Playstation Portable™_ or PSP for short. It's a handheld console used for playing video games and such. It's a pretty neat little device, if I may say so myself. Could keep you distracted for hours if you let it."

Grimmjow's gaze shifted evenly between the PSP and the shopkeeper; his brow arched slightly as the faintest trace of curiosity flashed over his face, something that didn't go unnoticed by the shopkeeper. "So…you're trying to tell me that this shit here is supposed to keep me from blowing up?"

Urahara nodded.

"…And you expect me to believe that?"

The shopkeeper chuckled. "Think about it this way…you'll be learning how to redirect that monstrous temper of yours at someone else's expense, or in this case, at Jinta's expense since this device was formerly his."

After a second or two of thought, the smile began to creep back onto Grimmjow's face, and he redirected his attention to the struggling boy.

"Well, since you put it that way, I suppose I'll go along with it." he replied, his grip tightening around the gaming device. "Thanks a lot, brat. Consider yourself spared…at the moment at least. I think I'm gonna go try out _my_ new toy."

At that, the Espada disappeared into the hallway, headed toward his room. Tessai released Jinta, who was now a sniffling mess. "Urahara, you…you traitor,…w-why'd you have to…t-to give him my game? T-Traitor…"

"I hardly consider that a betrayal, Jinta." Urahara said. "In fact, I do believe I just saved your life, did I not? Maybe now you won't be so eager to act as recklessly as you have been."

"This…this isn't fair." Jinta whimpered, slumping down to the floor.

Back in his room, Grimmjow sat down beside his bed and examined the PSP. There was a big screen on the front of it. An array of buttons surrounded the screen, their different functions labeled on or around them. The Espada's brows furrowed slightly as he continued to look the device over.

"How the hell do you even turn this thing on?" he muttered under his breath.

"Umm…excuse me…Mr. Grimmjow?" the small voice drew the Espada's attention to the room door where Ururu now stood peeping in at him.

"Yeah, what?"

"Mr. Urahara asked me to come and show you how to operate the PSP." Ururu replied quietly, slowly entering the room.

Grimmjow glanced down at the device in his hand and then back up at the girl. "Fine." he finally said.

Seeing this as her permission to enter the room, Ururu walked up and knelt down beside the Espada, who in turn handed her the PSP.

"Ok, this is the button to turn it on…"

* * *

Three days had passed since the scuffle between Grimmjow and Jinta, and the infamous "giving away" of the PSP. Within that period of time, the red-headed boy had made six different attempts to reclaim his beloved game; all of them ended in failure, leaving him miserably bitter. He drug around the shop, a pout cemented into his expression. He snapped at everyone who spoke to him or asked him to do something, his generic answers almost always being "Get me my game back and I might consider helping you" or "I wouldn't be so grouchy if _someone_ hadn't given my game away." And by someone, he truly meant Urahara; he'd made a point of ignoring the man and muttering traitor every time he'd walk pass him.

Grimmjow, on the other hand, was indifferent. While he thoroughly enjoyed thwarting every last one of Jinta's attempts at getting the PSP from him and then laughing at the miserable expression on the boy's face, he was completely at odds with the device itself. Though he wouldn't openly admit it, _Mortal Kombat™_ was actually very appealing to him. Endless blood spill, tearing opponents limb from limb, inhumane death…it was right up his alley. It would've been perfect for keeping him from blowing up…_would've_ been…had he not been so horrible at it. He'd been playing the game for three whole days now, and he still was able to count his number of victories on one hand. How could something he used to do on a daily basis in _real_ life be so damn hard to accomplish in virtual life? He was getting his virtual ass kicked, and it was infuriating; the notion of throwing the device into a wall and watching it shatter into a million pieces was suddenly becoming a more enjoyable idea.

* * *

The dining area was quiet on the evening of the fourth day, despite the fact that everyone was in it. Everyone – except Grimmjow – sat around the table quietly eating dinner. Said Espada sat in his now usual spot against the wall, too occupied with the PSP to notice roasting irritation of the red-headed boy sitting a couple feet in front of him at the table. Several long minutes passed before the silence was finally broken when a low chuckle escaped Grimmjow's throat. After what seemed like an eternity of losses, he'd finally _won_ a match. _Finally, damn!_ his mind roared victoriously as he chuckled again, watching the character he'd been playing with, Scorpion, rip his opponent's spin out of their body.

"Heh, bout damn time…" he mumbled under his breath.

"Ugh, that is it, I can't take it anymore!" Jinta suddenly yelled out, startling everyone around the table and pulling Grimmjow's attention away from the game in front of him.

"What the hell's your issue kid?" Renji muttered.

"My _issue_? My issue is being forced to sit here like nothing is wrong while a hollow sits right behind me and has fun playing _my_ favorite game!" Jinta yelled, pointing back towards Grimmjow; he didn't dare turn around, though, afraid of the undoubtedly murderous glare he'd have to face if he did. "This is totally unfair! If this was supposed to be some kind of punishment, then I think I've suffered long enough! I want my game back!"

"Jinta, it'd be best if you'd just calm down now..." Tessai started.

"You want me to calm down? Then tell your shopkeeper friend to get me my game back!" Jinta yelled, cutting the man off.

"But he's not the one that has your game." Ururu reasoned. "If you really want it back, then you should…oww!"

Jinta roughly brought his fist down over Ururu's head. "You be quiet! He may not be the one who has it be he _is_ the one who gave it away, and now _he's_ the one that's gonna get it back!"

The red-headed boy turned his angry glare on Urahara. "You hear that? I don't care what you say, you're the one that's gonna get me my – UMPH!"

Jinta's sentence was abruptly bitten off when an object collided with the back of his head, sending his face flying into the bowl of rice that sat in front of him; he'd been knocked out cold. Everyone watched in shock as the PSP tumbled to the floor behind the boy and then raised their eyes to the Espada, who now wore a bored expression.

"You can have it back, annoying son of a bitch. I don't want it anymore." he said nonchalantly as he stood up from his place against the wall and headed for the hallway.

"So I take it that it didn't help?" Urahara asked before the Espada disappeared.

Grimmjow gaze shifted to the man for a second. "No." was his simple reply as he disappeared into the hallway.

* * *

**The End! :D Thanks again to CalicoUmbreon for the idea! Remember to send me your ideas for future one-shots, and I'll come up with some, too. So, did you like it? Hate it? Feel free to share… Thanks for reading!**

**xLSx**

**P.S.: The deleted scenes probably won't be updated as frequently as my main story, but don't worry, it will be worked on. :D**


	2. Chapter 2

_Hi, all! I'm back again, and I'm finally updating UDS with a new short story that bears a Christmassy theme in the spirit of this lovely holiday season. I certainly hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it, lol! Now, onto the story…_

_A/N: I don't own Bleach…_

* * *

**Unbound Deleted Scene #2:**

**A Day in a Life: Takuya Hokkaido Edition**

"_**First Christmas"**_

"So…pretty…"

These were the only words Takuya could form at the moment as she stood outside on the shop's small porch and watched the snow fall gracefully from a cloudy gray sky. The ground had already been covered in the pure white ice when she'd stepped outside that quiet morning, and she'd immediately become entranced by it the moment she laid eyes on it.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Orihime's voice startled Takuya slightly, but she smiled nonetheless when the girl appeared in her peripheral view.

"Yes, it is very beautiful, enthralling even." Takuya replied. "I could stand here and watch it forever."

"Me too." Orihime chimed. "Snow has always made me happy, even more so now that it's come just in time for Christmas."

Takuya looked at Orihime then, an inquisitive expression taking over her features. "…Christmas?"

Orihime returned Takuya's inquisitive gaze. "You've never heard of Christmas?"

The ebony-haired girl timidly shook her head "no."

"It's one of the greatest and loveliest holidays of the year, and it's celebrated almost everywhere." Orihime explained gleefully. "There's gift giving and big, tasty dinners and Christmas trees and lots of pretty lights and decorations and hot-cocoa drinking and caroling and lots of fun times with family and friends and a whole lot of other awesome stuff."

Takuya giggled at the auburn-haired girl's enthusiasm. "Wow, that does sound really nice."

"Oh it so is." Orihime said, smiling brightly. "Hey, we should see if Urahara has a Christmas tree. If he does, we can put it up and decorate it together."

At that, she grabbed Takuya by the hand and pulled her back into the shop where they proceeded to seek out the shopkeeper.

* * *

"A Christmas tree? No I don't think we have one of those around here." Urahara replied as he sipped his tea. "Why do you ask?"

"Because, it's Christmas time, and I think we should have one." Orihime said earnestly. "You do celebrate Christmas, don't you?"

"Kinda."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"We celebrate it…only we've never had a tree…or gifts…"

The auburn-haired girl gasped sharply. "A Christmas…with no Christmas tree _or_ gifts?"

Urahara nodded.

"Did you at least have a nice dinner together?"

"Not really."

"…Did you guys at least spend a little quality time together?"

"Nope."

Orihime's brow furrowed as she folded her arms over her chest, and she shook her head in disapproval. "Well that's not going to be the case this year. If I'm staying here, then we are going to have a Christmas tree and dinner and everyone is going to spend time together."

Urahara blinked confusedly at the girl. "But…why do we need to –"

"Because this is going to be Takuya's first Christmas and it should be one that she'll always have fond memories of. Are you going to rob her of that?"

The shopkeeper quickly put his hands up and shook his head, a comical grin on his face. "No, of course not. I wouldn't want to be responsible for that."

"Good." Orihime said with a smile; she then turned to face Takuya, who sat quietly beside her. "Alright, it's time for us to go out and do some Christmas shopping."

"Ummm…can I come along, too?" Ururu's quiet voice drew the three's attention to the hallway entrance, where the small girl now stood. She'd overheard the entire conversation.

"Of course you can come, Ururu." Orihime replied cheerily. "The more, the merrier…"

"Bah, Ururu doesn't need to go anywhere." Jinta said, suddenly appearing behind Ururu and bringing his hand down roughly onto her head, eliciting a whimper from the girl. "She's got plenty chores around here that she needs to handle."

"Actually, I think it would be a great idea if Ururu came along with us." Takuya commented, eying the boy. "From all that I've heard so far, it would seem that she's never been Christmas shopping either. It will be an excellent first time experience for both of us."

"I agree. Ururu, you may go with Orihime and Takuya." Urahara said. "I'm sure Jinta wouldn't mind doing your chores for you at all, would you, Jinta?"

"What? C'mon, Urahara, that is _not_ fair…!"

The shopkeeper fixed the boy with a stern glare. "Would you…Jinta?"

"…No, sir, I wouldn't mind at all." Jinta muttered begrudgingly.

"Excellent, then it's settled." Urahara said coolly. "You three should go ahead and prepare yourselves to head out. One thing I do know about this time of year is that it can get pretty hectic out there, even with the weather we're having."

"Right." the three girls said in unison.

"Oh, one other thing…will you need Grimmjow or Renji to go with you today?" Urahara asked.

"No, I'm sure we can manage on our own today." Orihime said.

"Very well."

At that, the three girls departed to their rooms to prepare for their trip into town.

* * *

Within about half an hour, all three girls were prepared to leave. Feeling obligated to contribute to the cause; both Urahara and Tessai provided the girls with a good bit of their own funds to aid in their shopping trip. After exchanging their "good-byes" and "be carefuls," the three set out on their mini-journey to downtown Karakura.

From his place on the roof of the shop, Grimmjow watched the girls as they began their trek across the snowy lot. He pulled his dark blue coat tighter around him to keep stray snowflakes from landing on his neck, and then shoved his hands into his pockets. A minute or so later, another presence joined him, sitting about three feet away. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Renji brushing the remains of accumulated snow away from his sitting spot. His deep red hair wasn't in its usual ponytail today, and rather fell around his face like a curtain of blood, most likely to keep his face warm. His attention didn't linger on the man for too long, as his eyes immediately found the three girls again shortly before the disappeared from the view of the lot.

"You're up early." Renji finally spoke, breaking the somewhat awkward silence looming between them.

Grimmjow merely grunted at the man's remark; taking a deep breath, he stretched out his senses finding Orihime, Takuya, and Ururu almost immediately among the myriad of other insignificant spiritual pressures.

"Kinda thought you were going with them."

"Tch, hell no." Grimmjow said almost defiantly. "I spend enough time around those annoying humans thanks to Urahara putting me in that damn…high school."

Renji chuckled slightly. "Yeah, I suppose you do. And there's supposed to be a lot more of them in downtown Karakura."

"I know that. I've heard plenty about this…holiday rush shit just by listening to them talk about it at the school, about how it's so crowded sometimes you can't even move properly and how vulgar these humans can get. What the hell do you think would happen if I were put into all that shit?"

Renji couldn't help but laugh as he pulled his own coat a little tighter around him. "Well, we'd be in a hell of a lot of trouble, that's for sure."

"Exactly." Grimmjow muttered; he growled lowly, the thought of being caught up in sea of human shoppers causing his ire to rise slightly. "Everyone would be in trouble."

* * *

"We made it. Finally…" Orihime said with a minor sigh of relief as the three girls began walking down the busy sidewalks of downtown Karakura.

Takuya gasped in slight awe and astonishment as her eyes wandered over all the buildings surrounding them as well as all the people scattered everywhere as they made their way down the busy sidewalk. She couldn't recall ever being in this part of Karakura before. It was crowded; not even Karakura High had this many people. When they reached the corner of one block, they stopped. Takuya immediately recognized this to be one of the "shopping blocks" Orihime hand mentioned on their way here. It was lined with various department stores, food stores, gift shops, and eateries, and it was getting steadily more crowded with lots of bustling people. Takuya felt herself gulp a little.

"Ok guys, this is the place that we will be doing our shopping." Orihime explained. "This whole block is lined with stores that will have basically everything we need."

"What will we be buying?" Takuya asked.

"Well a Christmas tree for starters, and lights and decorations…we'll be doing that part last. We also need to get a gift for everyone." The auburn-haired girl then produced two lists and gave them to Takuya and Ururu. "I have everyone's names on that list, just so we don't forget anybody."

"So, do we go get gifts for everyone first?" Ururu asked.

"Yes, we're gonna be doing that first." Orihime replied, grabbing the small girl by the hand. "We can all go together or we can go to different stores on our own. Which do you want to do Takuya?"

Takuya thought for a second. "Are you going to keep Ururu with you? I'd hate for her to get lost in all this…"

"Yeah, I'll keep her safe." Orihime said with a slight smile, her hand tightening slightly around Ururu's.

"Ok, well, you two be careful." Takuya said.

"You too, Takuya…oh wait, one more thing…" Orihime pulled out a small cell phone from her coat pocket. "Keep this with you. I wrote my number on the back of the phone case. If you need to, just dial the number and press "Send" to call."

Takuya nodded, immediately putting the phone in her pocket so she wouldn't lose it and waving after Orihime and Ururu. She stood and watched the two until the disappeared in the bustling crowd. Then, with a deep breath, she began to make her own way down the busy block.

"Ok, gifts for everyone…" she murmured as she looked over the list of people. "Ichigo, Uryuu, Rukia, Renji, Chad, Orihime, Ururu, Jinta, Urahara, Tessai…hmmm, one's missing…"

She paused for a moment, her brow furrowed only slightly. Pulling out a pen she'd brought along for marking off names, she added a final name to the bottom of the list. "…And…Grimmjow…"

Smiling slightly, she folded her list and continued her walk. The first store she stopped at was a women's clothing and accessories store. Taking a deep breath, she walked in and looked around. She wasn't surprised when she found a large crowd in the store as well, moving here and there as best they could without running into each other. Without much thought, she grabbed an available shopping cart and moved to the side of the store containing the clothing.

"Ok, a new outfit for Orihime, Rukia, and Ururu…"

She picked items up here and there, doing her best to consider what it was that each girl liked as well as making sure that the outfits matched and would actually fit them. So far, she'd successfully created three casual winter outfits consisting of a pair of pants for each, sweaters, scarves, hats, mittens, – she personally really liked mittens for reasons she couldn't explain – jackets, and even socks.

"Alright, now all that's left are the shoes…"

At that, Takuya made her way over to the shoes, and immediately found pairs for Orihime and Rukia. And, after only a few minutes of searching, she spotted what she deemed as the "perfect pair of shoes" to complete Ururu's outfit. They were the cutest soft pink boots she'd ever seen. She'd reached down to pick them up from their boxed resting place on the shelf when they were suddenly snatched from right under her hands, so quickly in fact that she immediately retracted her hands for fear that they would be taken along with the box. She looked up to see a short, dark-haired lady tossing the shoe box into her own cart.

"Oops," the woman sneered in a nasally voice, looking back at Takuya as she walked away, "sorry about that, did I take the box you were reaching for? Oh well, maybe next time right?"

Takuya stood in slight shock. _Was this what Mr. Urahara was warning me about before we left?_

_**- FLASHBACK -**_

"_This time of the year brings out the worst in people in the retail community, especially the shoppers, so I'm told. Try not to let it bother you too much if you encounter somebody who just seems to be overly rude on purpose, ok?"_

_Takuya nodded. "Ok. I'll do my best."_

_**- END FLASHBACK -**_

"…Oh dear…" Takuya murmured as she slowly turned back to the shelf where the shoes used to be.

Fortunately enough, there was another pair of the same exact shoes hidden further back on the shelf. She quickly reached out and picked the shoes and placed them in her own cart. After checking over all her items and nodding in approval of her selections, she went to the front of the store to make her first purchases of the day. The cashier was kind enough to give her one larger bag in which she placed the shoes and neatly folded items. With her bag in hand, she left the store with a feeling of accomplishment.

"Three down…" she said as she retrieved her list from her, checking all three girls' names on her list. "And now for the gentlemen on the list…"

The next store Takuya stopped in was a household and appliance store. The crowd wasn't as large in here as it was in the clothing store, but where people didn't take up space, the items they hoisted around did. Boxes containing outdoor appliances, furniture of all kinds, rolling tool chests, and the like were being rolled around everywhere. She blew slightly at her new obstacle as she grabbed a cart and moved into the store.

After quite a bit of looking around, Takuya finally came to a stop in front of a shelf containing tea makers, and immediately saw one that she knew a certain shopkeeper and his assistant would love. It was made of rust-proof stainless steel, included a rack for holding small boxes of teabags, and had a built in warming plate that would keep the tea warm for extended periods of time after it was made. It even came with a few bags of complementary tea. She laughed lightly as she pictured the two's reaction upon receiving the gift. As she reached out to grab the box from the shelf, she was once again caught painfully off guard when a set of hands shot out and snatched it away. Completely dumbfounded by this, she looked around to see the same woman from the previous store giggling insanely as she put the box in her own cart.

"I guess today just isn't your day, huh? Doesn't look like you're getting any gifts." she guffawed as she sped away.

Takuya looked after the woman until she disappeared off the aisle, her brow furrowing only slightly for a quick second before turning back to the shelf. After a few seconds, she'd found another tea maker and, to her great pleasure, the second one had all of the same features of the first _and_ it held more tea. Smiling at her small victory, she placed the tea maker in her cart and moved off the isle. By the end of her time in the store, she had the tea maker as well as some new tea cups and utensils to go along with it. Upon leaving the store, she retrieved the list from her pocket again.

"Ok, that's Urahara and Tessai." she said, checking the two names on the list. "Now for the rest…"

Her next stop had actually taken her across the street to a department store. It was the largest of the three stores she'd been in so far, and definitely the most crowded. Not wasting any time, she grabbed the first empty cart she saw and went in. Once she'd gotten going, she found that it was fairly easy to find nice gifts for the remaining guys on the list. For Ichigo, she found a sports jacket and pants to match; for Renji, she picked up a burgundy bandana and the best pair of sunglasses she could find; for Uryuu, she found a brand new sewing kit; and for Chad, she'd found jacket and pants set befitting of him as well.

"Ok, for Jinta, lover of video games…"

Takuya moved over to the electronics side of the store and quickly found the video games. She was amazed at how many there were to choose from, as well as the variety of consoles to play the games on. She stood for a brief moment looking over the vast amount of games until she narrowed it down to two in particular that she knew he would love. They were fighting games, Jinta's favorite, one based on strategy, another purely brawling. She'd just begun to reach out to collect the two games when, for the third time that day, someone else reached out and swiped them before she could even touch them. Takuya sighed as she looked toward the one responsible and almost face-planted when she saw the same, dark-haired woman from the previous stores.

"You know, I'd better not see you again. Otherwise I'm gonna start thinking that you're following me." the woman said, cackling as she dropped the games into her cart and rolled away.

Takuya ground her teeth as she watched the woman disappear onto another aisle before taking a deep breath and turning back to the game shelf.

"Stay calm…just remember what Mr. Urahara said…don't let it bother me…" she murmured to herself as she found the games again, plucked them off the shelf, and placed them into her cart.

She then paused to retrieve the list from her pocket again and check off the remaining names. "Alright, everyone's covered…everyone, but Grimmjow…"

A thoughtful expression shone on her facial features then. She was positive that the Espada didn't know what Christmas was, and that even if he did, he wouldn't care if he'd gotten a gift or not; more than that, she knew that he more than likely wouldn't even appreciate it if he got it and would probably deem it as useless to him and shove it off to the side never to be touched again. Even still, she wanted to do it, to get him a gift.

_He's here with us now; even if he doesn't want or appreciate it, at least I'll have peace of mind in knowing that I thought about him when no one else did…_

And with that, she began looking for a gift for the Espada. After about thirty minutes of searching, she came across something that caused her to gasp in awe. Sitting on a shelf displayed among other keepsakes and decorations was the most beautiful snow globe she'd ever seen. Inside its glass sphere were two figurines that resembled tigers standing amongst little faux trees, and artificial snow glided and swirled around them all by itself. A soft light that changed between shades of blue, white, and green reflected on the water that filled it, causing it to glow beautifully.

"This is it…this will be my gift to Grimmjow." she said softly to herself.

She then looked below the display shelf for a globe that was already boxed and ready to go and sighed with relief when she found it. It was the last one on the shelf. With an excited smile she reached for the box…only to have it snatched out of her reach…again. She gasped in blatant shock, and she immediately looked up to see who had taken it; she felt her face flush hot when she saw the woman again, leering at her with the snow globe in her grasp.

"Oh my, it looks like _I've_ taken the last one. What a shame…" she said as she put the globe in her cart, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "Ya know I should commend you for finding such spectacular gifts. You saved me the trouble of having to look for them myself."

With a final, haughtily triumphant laugh, the woman proceeded to walk away with her prize. Only this time, she'd only managed to take exactly three steps before a hand clamped down on her shoulder, pulling her back so hard that she was literally thrown to the floor and her cart was sent careening into the shelves. Momentarily stunned and disoriented by the sudden action, the woman sat up and prepared launch a tantrum until she got a good look at Takuya's face…and her own face began to pale.

The ebony-haired girl towered over the woman, her fists clenched so tightly that her knuckles turned white. Several emotions raged behind her now icy gray eyes, but the most prominent of them all was anger.

_**- Back at Urahara's, from their spot on the roof… -**_

Renji looked in the direction of the city, his brows furrowing slightly. "Hmmm, that doesn't feel too good. Someone's spirit energy is starting to show signs of spiking."

"Tch, the hell do you mean _someone_? That's Takuya's spirit energy." Grimmjow muttered. "Someone must be pissing her off."

The red-headed shinigami looked back at the Espada. "You aren't gonna go do anything about it?"

"What the hell do you expect me to do? Besides that, ain't Orihime in the city with her? She should have it perfectly under control."

After a second or so, Renji turned his gaze back toward the city. "…Yeah, I guess you're right. Let's hope she does anyway…"

_**- Back in downtown Karakura, in the department store -**_

"What the hell's your problem girl?" the woman snapped, trying to sound as furious as she could to mask the terror she was truly feeling. "You must be out of your mind! I should have you arrest-"

"Silence!" Takuya shot back cutting the woman off, her anger steadily increasing; the burning sensation at her core had returned, and was slowly transforming her anger into pure rage. "I don't know if you are purposely trying to provoke me with your spitefully rude behavior or not, but I will not simply stand by and take it any longer. I am _trying_ to have an enjoyable Christmas shopping experience, but every time I turn around, in _every_ store I've been in, you always seem to be there just to mess it up!"

"Look, girl, you need to calm –"

"Don't tell me what I need to do! Now get up off the floor and give me back the snow globe!"

The woman glared at Takuya defiantly. "Why should I? _I_ saw it _first_!"

Every light in the store began to flicker the instant those words left the woman's mouth, and slight gasps could be heard echoing around the entire building. From her spot on the floor, the woman began to feel her body become distinctly heavier, as if someone or something was lying on top of her and weighing her down. After her own gasp escaped her, she chanced a look at the girl still standing over her. What she saw made her blood froze. Takuya's countenance had visibly darkened, and her body had begun to tremble with rage. Faint blue light had also begun to outline her silhouette, making her seem bigger than she actually was and nearly sending the woman into hysteria.

"Give. It. Back." the eerily false calm of the ebony-haired girl's voice sent a splintering chill racing at light speed up and down the woman's spine, and she quickly scrambled to her feet and rushed to her cart to retrieve the box containing the snow globe.

"H-Here…j-just take it." she said, handing the box over to the seething girl.

The instant the box left her hands; she turned on her heels, grabbed her cart, and ran in the opposite direction, not once looking back. With a deep, shaky breath, Takuya set the box down into her own cart and then immediately sank to the floor, wrapping her arms around herself. The burning across her midsection had become almost unbearable, and the pain flared slightly with every breath she took. Tears had begun to well up in her eyes as she fought to calm herself down when, suddenly, the cell phone Orihime had given her started ringing. She fished it out of her pocket and flipped it open.

"Hello?"

"_Takuya, are you alright? I felt your spirit energy suddenly spike a moment ago._" Orihime's voice was tainted with worry.

"…Yes, I'm ok. I just…let something get to me…"

"_What happened?_"

"It's nothing serious, and it didn't last long enough to be worth troubling over."

"_Are you sure you're ok, Takuya?_"

"Yes, I'm sure. Don't worry."

"_...Ok…well, are you about done getting gifts?_"

"Yes."

"_Ok. When you finish, meet back up at the street corner we parted on, ok?_"

"Ok. I'll see you in a few minutes."

"_Ok…_"

Takuya closed the phone and put it back in her pocket. Then, after a minute or so, she slowly pulled herself to her feet. With one arm still wrapped around her torso, she made her way to the check-out at the front of the store to purchase the last of her gifts.

The remainder of the three girls' time in the city was spent grabbing lunch at a sandwich shop and buying a Christmas tree and the decorations to go along with it, as well as wrapping paper and gift bags to wrap up the gifts they bought. Over the course of it all, the burning at Takuya's core had greatly subsided. The rush of the wintery air bringing a welcome chill to her body, and Ururu's delightful, yet uncharacteristic chatter about what a great time she'd had today, had helped her to forget all about her encounter with the insufferable shopper. In no time at all, she'd reacquired her usual calm and her mood had greatly improved. She smiled to herself as they headed back to Urahara's shop, happy that the day had turned out to be a great one after all.

* * *

Christmas day rolled around quicker than anyone had anticipated, but it was warmly welcomed just the same. Ichigo and the others arrived at the shop that afternoon, all drawn by the shocking news that the place had actually been decorated for the holidays and that there was going to be holiday dinner and gifts. Talking, laughter and awed gasps filled the atmosphere of the shop as gifts – and hugs – were exchanged. At one point, Renji had literally jumped across the table and hugged Takuya as tight as he could after receiving the gift she'd gotten him.

"You're the best! Thank you so much!" he cheered.

Takuya laughed at his reaction while trying not to fall over under his weight. "I'm glad you like them." she said.

He released her after a second or so and went back over to the table, putting on his sunglasses immediately after he sat down.

"We're inside, Renji. I'm pretty sure you won't need them in here." Ichigo commented, laughing.

"Who cares? I'm still gonna wear them."

Ichigo shook his head at the red-headed man. "Alright, suit yourself."

Takuya sat back and watched everyone ogle their gifts with a contented smile until she noticed that a certain Espada was not in the room. She then stood to her feet and walked over to the Christmas tree, where she retrieved a shiny, dark blue gift bag from underneath it. Slipping out of the dining area as quietly as she could, she made her way back to His room and slowly opened the door.

The Espada was sleeping rather soundly when she tip-toed in. She closed the door softly behind her and then moved around to the side of his bed. After sitting down and placing the bag behind her, she reached out and nudged his shoulder.

"Grimmjow…wake up…for just a moment, please…"

With a slight groan, the Espada's azure blue eyes slowly slid open. He frowned slightly when he saw the girl.

"The hell do you want, girl?" he mumbled groggily as he pushed himself up into a sitting position.

Takuya smiled. "It's Christmas day, and everyone's here with gifts and we're about to have a nice meal together. Why don't you come join us?"

"For what?" Grimmjow said, yawning.

"Well…I think it'd be nice if you did. There's lots of gifts around there…"

The Espada stared blankly at Takuya for a second or so before speaking again. "You can't be that naïve, girl. I'm a _hollow_ amongst a gang and a half of fucking shinigami…and others. I hate them and they hate me. Do you honestly believe that any of them actually went out of their damn way to get anything for me?"

Takuya hesitated somewhat before shaking her head. "…No, I'm not so naïve to think such a thing. I'm pretty certain that not one of them got you a gift. But…"

She reached behind her, retrieved the bag, and set it in front of her.

"I'm _not_ any of them."

Grimmjow was caught off guard to say this least, and left speechless long enough for Takuya to speak again.

"I know you probably wouldn't want it, but I got it anyway. While it is true that you are a hollow and technically the enemy of everyone here, I still think that you should get a gift. You are here with us now, and you're protecting me. I think that deserves something, don't you?"

Grimmjow half-glared at the girl, not knowing whether he should snap at her for even bothering to do something like this or not. He didn't have much time to decide, however, as Takuya pushed the bag closer to him. Her gray eyes glimmered with anticipation, silently urging him to open it. With an exasperated sigh he took the bag, broke the strip of clear tape that had kept it sealed closed, and looked inside. His eyes widened slightly at what he saw – something clear, obviously made of glass. He reached in the bag and pulled out the object.

"What is it?"

"It's a snow globe. It's battery operated, so when it's turned on, the snow swirls around on its own." Takuya explained. "It also has lights at the base that make the water glow blue, green, and white."

She reached out her hand, and Grimmjow placed the globe in it. She then turned it on its underside to reveal a little black switch.

"You just switch this to on and…," she flipped the switch and twirled the globe once before give it back to Grimmjow, "you get a beautiful snowfall in the palm of your hands,"

She then handed it back to the Espada, who by now looked a little less annoyed and a little more…interested…kind of. He watched the artificial snow swirl around the glass sphere, propelled by some unseen force, for about a minute before looking back at Takuya, who was now moving to stand to her feet. In one swift movement, he reached up, grabbed her by her wrist and pulled her back down, eliciting a startled gasp from the girl as she suddenly found herself face to face with the Espada. After a few brief seconds that seemed like forever, he finally spoke.

"Thanks." The word sounded forced, as if he'd had to mentally prepare himself so that he could say it without self-destructing, but it'd made her smile warmly nonetheless.

Seemingly satisfied with her reaction, Grimmjow released her and turned his attention back to the snow globe – _his_ snow globe – currently resting in his lap. Takuya stood up a second later.

"You're welcome." she said quietly as she walked to the door; she turned to face him a final time before she stepped out into the hallway, a slight blush tinting her cheeks. "Merry Christmas."

The Espada grunted in reply as he set his gift down beside his bed and lay back down. "Whatever." he muttered, pulling the blankets back over his body and shutting his eyes.

Takuya smile widened slightly as she stepped back into the hallway and closed the room door behind her. With a contented sigh, she sauntered happily back to the dining area to rejoin the others.

"Takuya, there you are." Orihime greeted the girl with a hug. "So, are you enjoying yourself?"

"Yes, I most certainly am." Takuya cheered happily. "This was a fantastic first Christmas. I can't wait next year!"

* * *

**And that's a wrap :D! Even though it was slightly difficult to do, I actually really enjoyed writing this short. It made me feel even more ready for the holiday season. So, what'd ya think? Did you like it? Hate it? Feel free to share your thoughts… Thanks for reading!**

**xLSx**

**P.S. – I wish everyone a lovely, safe, happily blessed holiday season, and I hope that it will make for a brilliant ending to a wonderful year and a shining start to a brand new one!**


	3. Chapter 3

_Hi, guys! It's me again and I'm FINALLY getting to update UDS with another one-shot that was actually an idea given to me by another one of my precious reviewers…let's just say that it really made me want to go to the beach while I was writing it! (corny, I know, lol XD) Anywho, on with the story!_

_

* * *

_

**Unbound Deleted Scene #3:**

"**Saltwater Blues"**

"ROAD TRIP!"

Orihime's sudden outburst had shattered the unusual tranquility of the morning, and had drawn the attention of everyone currently sitting in the dining area. From their seats at the table, Takuya and Renji looked over at the girl with groggily confused expressions, and from his place against the wall, Grimmjow looked absolutely murderous. Orihime flushed pink with embarrassment, giggling nervously as she slowly entered the room and took a seat at the table.

"Heh, ummm…so, I guess no one told you guys yet, huh?" she asked.

"Told us what?" Renji asked with a yawn.

"That we're going to the beach today! It's gonna be so much fun!" Orihime cheered excitedly. "Ichigo, Mizuiro, Keigo, Tatsuki and I set it up, and we've invited everyone to come along. There's gonna be grilling and sunbathing and sandcastle building and all that other awesome stuff that you do at the beach."

"Well, that does sound fun…"Takuya commented laughing lightly. "I've never been to a beach before."

"You haven't? Hmmm…then I guess you don't have a swimsuit either…" Orihime said thoughtfully. "We'll need to go out and get you one before we leave."

"A swimsuit…?"

The auburn-haired girl stood up and went over to Takuya, grabbing her by her wrist. "C'mon, I'm not sure when we're leaving for the beach, so let's hurry and get dressed so we can go and get back quickly."

"Oh…ok…"

At that, the two rushed out of the room to get ready to go out. Renji looked at the hallway entrance they disappeared in momentarily before placing his chin in his hand again, yawning broadly.

"Hmmm, a road trip to the beach…sounds interesting…" he mumbled loudly to himself.

"Tch…interesting my ass…" Grimmjow muttered in his half-dozed state against the wall. "What the hell's so fucking interesting about sand and salt water?"

Renji thought for a minute before answering. "Water fights…oh, and I hear that you can bury people in the sand while they're sleeping. Hehe, that sounds too good to pass up."

Grimmjow stared blankly at the red-headed shinigami for a second or so before directing his glare elsewhere, cursing profusely under his breath.

"You are going, right?" Renji asked after a brief pause.

The Espada shot the man an incredulous glare. "You make it seem like I have a fucking choice."

Renji laughed as he stood to his feet. "Yeah, dumb question. My bad." he said before disappearing into the hallway.

Grimmjow growled as he sat up from his previously slouched position and then slowly climbed to his feet. He really wanted to kill something now.

* * *

The journey to the coast was a fairly quiet one, a fact greatly attributed to the conscious effort to keep Rukia as far away from Grimmjow as possible during the ride. The only noise to be heard throughout the entire trip was that of a bubbly Orihime quietly sharing previous beach experiences with Takuya, both of whom were currently seated at the back of the fifteen-passenger van with Grimmjow, who had dedicated the whole of his own concentration to _not_ throwing the endlessly babbling girl through the nearest window.

After about an hour of nonstop driving, the group finally arrived at their destination, and the comfortable silence was finally broken by murmurs of excitement.

"Welcome to Shizuka Beach!" Orihime cheered as she and everyone else climbed out of the vehicle and into the ocean-scented air. "Time for some fun in the sun!"

Takuya gazed curiously at all the sights surrounding her at the moment. They were parked in a moderately sized parking area located comfortably between two big hotels and directly in front of the beach they were visiting, which was partially blocked from view by a wooden security fence. The sound of laughter from children and adults alike could be heard echoing around the parking lot and even from the shore of the beach. She found herself smiling at this, suddenly more ready than ever to start enjoying her day.

"Okay everyone, the hotel to the right of us has kindly offered to let us use their restrooms to change in." Mizuiro announced. "Follow me, please."

At that the group trailed the boy into the hotel. Once inside, males separated from females and both groups went into their respective restrooms to change into their swimwear.

"Oh my gosh I'm so excited." Orihime chimed as she exited her stall, clad in an orange, flower-print bikini. "Takuya you are going to absolutely love it here, I know it."

"That is my hope." Takuya replied from her stall.

"Then we'll do our best to make that hope a reality." Tatsuki said, emerging from her own stall in an all-black bikini; she joined Orihime, who stood brushing her hair at the mirror. "I'm sure Orihime will teach you how to make awesome sandcastles. Me, on the other hand…I'll teach you guys how to win water fights."

Rukia exited her stall shortly thereafter wearing lavender bikini. "Ururu, you all set?"

"Yes." the girl's light voice echoed from her stall; she appeared seconds later in a deep red one-piece.

Last to exit her stall was Takuya, who now wore a royal blue bikini trimmed in white. Her hair was also pulled away from her back and secured into two low pigtails.

"Do I look alright in this?" she asked shyly as she stepped out of the stall completely.

"Yes, you totally do." Orihime said, almost squealing with joy. "That color suits you very well."

Takuya smiled in response, the compliment quelling her timidity. "Ok then, I'm ready to go if you all are."

"Great. Let's be on our way then."

After taking a moment to wrap themselves in their towels, the group of girls shuffled out of the restroom and made their way out of the hotel. Once outside again, they found their male companions gathered around the van, stowing their shed clothing away. Almost immediately after they'd made it to the vehicle to put their own clothes away, Keigo, who'd seen them coming from a distance, slinked his way over to Takuya.

"Takuya, my sweet, you're looking absolutely gorgeous as always." he cooed, taking one of her hands into his own. "I can't wait to see the rest of what you're hiding under that – OWWWW!"

Without the slightest warning, two fists collided brutally with the boy's face, and almost instantly, he sunk to the ground, holding his now throbbing jawbone with both hands.

"Wha-What was that for?" he whimpered.

"Not today, Keigo. Not. TODAY." Ichigo snapped as both he and Tatsuki towered over him, glaring menacingly.

"Oh come on, I was just paying her a comp-"

"Can it, you damn pervert! Keep this up and I'll stand by and watch while Grimmjow beats you into a bloody pulp!"

Keigo blinked confusedly through his pained expression. "What is she his girlfriend or – AHHHHH! Ouch, ouch…"

"Just…leave her…alone." Ichigo hissed through clenched teeth as he dug his heel into the boy's face.

With a frustrated sigh, the orange-haired boy redirected his attention to Takuya. "Sorry about him. He can be a real idiot sometimes."

"It's alright." Takuya said a hint of laughter in her voice; she placed her clothes into his outstretched hands. "Say…where is Grimmjow by the way?"

"Over there against the wall, my left, your right." Ichigo replied before turning back to the van to put her clothes away.

Takuya looked to her right, and almost immediately spotted the Espada leaning against the wall with his eyes closed and his arms folded across his bare chest. He wore dark blue shorts trimmed in a lighter blue that mirrored his eye color, and were hemmed just below his knees. With a small smile, she slowly made her way over to him and stood against the wall next to him.

"What do you want, girl?" he muttered after about a minute of silence had passed.

"It's shaping up to be a rather exciting day." Takuya said quietly. "I think we're going to really enjoy ourselves out here."

Grimmjow opened his eyes and glared incredulously at the girl. "How the hell do you figure that?"

"Well, despite all the people around here, this place has a really calming atmosphere…" Takuya replied. "The scent of the air alone is very relaxing, like it's helping you to escape the worries of your normal, everyday life."

The Espada released an exasperated sigh before directing his attention skyward. "I don't define relaxation as spending my day with a whole fucking army of humans."

"It may not be that bad…"

"Says you…"

"But…you will try to relax at least…won't you?"

"What the hell is it to you if I don't?"

"Well…it won't be right if the rest of us are and you're not."

"Who's caring?"

"I am."

A few seconds of silence passed between them then, in which time Grimmjow shot another incredulous glare at Takuya, who fiddled with the end of one of her pigtails. Cursing under his breath, the Espada pushed himself out of his leaning position against the wall, drawing the girl's attention.

"No promises." he finally said.

Takuya smiled warmly at him. "That's fine. At least I know that you'll try."

Grimmjow grunted in response, shifting his glare elsewhere.

_Damn girl…_

_

* * *

_

A half hour had passed since the group finally made it onto the beach. Urahara, Tessai, and Uryuu had fired up the grill, and had begun their cooking frenzy. Orihime, Takuya, and Ururu quickly got started on building the biggest sandcastles they could make. Ichigo, Renji, and Chad skimmed the water's edge on boogie boards, riding for as long as they can before falling off. Rukia sunbathed further up the shore. Tatsuki, Mizuiro, and Jinta continuously assailed Keigo with huge splashes of water, and Grimmjow stood a few feet away from the sandcastle-building females, watching it all.

"Alright! Sandcastle number one is complete!" Orihime cheered, marveling at their first, multi-tiered creation. "Now let's make a really big one!"

"One moment…" Takuya said, her gray eyes traveling back up the shore to where Rukia had been lying almost completely motionless for nearly an hour. "Is Rukia asleep?"

"Probably…people usually doze off while they're sunbathing unless they're talking to someone while they do it." Orihime replied. "Why, what's up?"

Takuya thought for a moment or so before responding, her eyes shifting back and forth between the dozing Rukia and Grimmjow; a smile slowly began curving her lips. "There's something we need to do."

"What's that?"

Takuya huddled the two girls closer to her. "I really want Grimmjow to have a little bit of fun while he's here. It's only fair, since the rest of us are enjoying ourselves, so…"

A sly smile appeared on Orihime's face at that moment. "Are you thinking what I think you're thinking?"

"If you're thinking that I'm thinking about dumping buckets of sand and water on a certain sunbather…then yes."

"I'm in."

"Me, too."

"Great. Let's get these buckets filled up. Then we can get Grimmjow in on what we're about to do."

At that, the girls broke their huddle and hurried to the water's edge, giggling as they filled eight buckets with sand and water. When they'd completed that part of their "mission," they then approached the Espada, who eyed all of them suspiciously.

"No, I'm _not_ building sandcastles." he muttered before any of the girls could speak. "I'd rather drown myself."

"Actually…that's not why we came over here." Takuya said. "We thought you might want to participate in what we're about to do."

Grimmjow's eyebrow arched at this, and his gaze shifted to the buckets in the girls' hands. "…And that would be what, exactly?"

"Two words: Rukia's sleeping." Orihime said, giggling as she raised one of her bucket-wielding hands.

The Espada frowned slightly at the auburn-haired girl before glancing over his shoulder at the dozing female shinigami. He then turned back to the three girls in time enough to see Takuya handing him two of her buckets…and almost immediately, a sadistic grin crept onto his face.

"Hell if I'm gonna pass this up." he said, taking the buckets from the girl and immediately making his way up to the shore, Takuya, Orihime, and Ururu right behind him.

Light snores reached their ears when the four reached the unsuspecting Rukia, confirming that she'd actually fallen asleep. They surrounded her as quietly as they could, standing on either side of her.

"On three…" Takuya whispered. "One, two, three…!"

The instant the words left her lips, the contents of all eight buckets were emptied onto Rukia, eliciting a startled gasp and a scream from the sputtering woman as she bolted upright out of her sleep.

"WHAT THE HELL?" she shouted frantically, instinctively trying to brush the wet sand off of her.

After finally regaining her bearings, the first thing she became aware of was incessant, near-hysterical laughter. And it didn't take her long to discover the sources…all seven of them. A few feet away from her now, Takuya, Orihime, Ururu, and – much to her great surprise – Grimmjow, were all doubled over and red in the face. From their place at the water's edge, Ichigo, Renji, and even Chad had dissolved in fits of snickers and guffaws, the trio having witnessed the act take place. Huffing, Rukia hurriedly clambered to her feet.

"Ugh, damn you all!" she shrieked.

"Ha, I guess this means midgets hate being wet!" Grimmjow managed to say before bursting into laugher again.

Seething, Rukia turned her full attention on the laughing Espada. "You! This was _your_ idea wasn't it?"

Her accusation had only succeeded in making Grimmjow laugh harder, but before he could properly respond she charged at him, with the full intent of barreling right into him. When she was close enough, the Espada sidestepped, and the angry woman flew right pass him and face-first into the sand. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the three girls collecting their buckets and going back to the water with the obvious intent of assailing the female shinigami a second time, this time enlisting Ichigo's, Renji's, and Chad's participation. He smirked at this before returning his full focus back to Rukia, who was currently spitting sand out of her mouth. _Heh, shit…if it's in the name of pissing off this eternally disgruntled dwarf…_

"Tch, if it had been _my_ idea I wouldn't have just dumped water on you…I would've thrown your pale ass into the damn ocean."

The comment angered the woman even further, and she quickly scrambled to her feet. Not wasting any time, she quickly charged again; this time she'd actually made it to the Espada, but was quickly restrained as both her wrists were now caught in his iron grip.

"Let go of me you idiot!" she shrieked as she thrashed about in her overkill struggle to free herself from his grasp. "Let go of me NOW!"

Glancing out of the corner of his eye again, Grimmjow saw that the girls and their enlisted helpers had made it back up the shore and were waiting for their moment to unleash their bucket loads of water on Rukia. Smirking, he managed to turn the thrashing woman so that, when he did let her go, she'd stumble right into their range.

"As you wish…" he said, releasing his grip on her just as she'd tried for the umpteenth time to yank herself out of his grasp.

It had worked all too perfectly. The instant he let go, she stumbled backward, and almost immediately after, she was bombarded by more sand and water. She seethed as she got to her feet, once again drenched in sandy, salty water.

"All of you are going to pay dearly for this!" she declared angrily, shaking her fist in the air.

Taking that as their cue to run, everyone – except Grimmjow and Takuya, both of which were still laughing rather uncontrollably – turned tail and made a mad dash for the water with Rukia hot on their heels. Tatsuki, who'd momentarily paused in her self-initiated watery onslaught upon an unfortunate Keigo, smirked when she saw the group running in her direction.

"WATER FIGHT!" she shouted boisterously when the group finally reached the water, and a full scale splash fest quickly ensued with everyone doing their best to splash each other with as much water as they could.

Finally managing to gain control of their laughter, Takuya and Grimmjow both looked up to see the group in the water, soaking each other in huge splashes. The ebony-haired girl's smile broadened at the sight.

"So that's a water fight…it looks like a lot of fun." she said.

"Tch, that shit doesn't look like any kinda fight I've ever seen." Grimmjow commented; he then moved over to the oversized beach towel that Rukia had been lying on.

Takuya watched him with a hint of curiosity as he moved the towel to the side, collected the scattered buckets and started digging what looked like a mini ditch where the towel had once been. Her curiosity finally getting the better of her, she finally went up to the digging Espada and kneeled down next to him.

"Grimmjow…what exactly are you doing?"

The Espada paused after five of the eight buckets were full of sand removed from the trench he'd dug and looked at the girl.

"Having _fun_." he replied, a sadistic grin slowly turning up the corners of his mouth; he then reached over and grabbed the remaining empty buckets. "Here, I'll even let you help. Fill those up with water and bring them back…but try not to let the dwarf see you, got it?"

Takuya smile broadened further as she took the buckets from him. "Not to worry. I'll be right back."

Within a minute's time, Takuya had successfully gone to the water's edge, filled the three buckets to the brim with water, and made it back to Grimmjow without drawing attention to herself. The Espada then proceeded to dump all the water into the ditch. When that was done, the sand-filled buckets were moved to the side, and the beach towel was put back into place, covering the ditch completely. Finally, the two stretched a sand-colored piece of rope out an inch or so in front of the bottom end of the towel, intent on tripping the girl and causing her to fall into the booby-trapped beach towel.

"I'm going to have to try and keep a straight face with this." Takuya said as she sat down by the left end of the rope.

"You'd better." Grimmjow said, taking his place on the right end of the rope. "Don't fuck this up with all that giggling shit. Just sit there and…pretend like you're just sitting there."

"I will." Takuya said, her gray eyes turning back to the ocean; almost immediately, her gaze pinned itself on said female shinigami just as she'd abandoned the rest of the water-flinging group. "Here she comes."

Rukia marched up the shore, mumbling every step of the way as she squeezed water out of her hair. She stopped just a few steps short of her towel, however, as her eyes became fixated upon Grimmjow in a cold, narrowed glare.

"Get away from my towel, _Espada_." she snapped, her hands going to her hips as if to put more emphasis into her words. "I don't want you _anywhere_ near me while I'm lying down."

Grimmjow glared back at the woman and had opened his mouth to respond, but was effectively cut off when Takuya began to speak.

"Our apologies, Rukia." she said as she got to her feet. "We did not mean to infiltrate your personal space."

"No, no, I didn't mean you, Takuya. You can sit where you were if you'd like." Rukia said.

"Really? I'd kind of assumed that if you wanted Grimmjow to move away from you, you'd want me to go away as well. I mean I did dump buckets of sand and water on you-"

Rukia laughed, surprising the girl somewhat. "Oh don't worry about that. I know that Grimmjow or one of the others put you up to it. You don't seem at all like the prank-prone type. In fact, I can't even begin to picture it, you coercing everyone into dumping water on me…I tell you, I can't even imagine it. It's even funny to think about…"

From the spot where he now stood a steps away, Grimmjow watched in slight amusement as Takuya's expression went from shocked to slightly offended, and then to completely miffed as she stood listening to the female shinigami, who had become so caught up in her own rambling that she had almost become completely unaware of the girl's presence. After about a minute or so, however, he found himself also getting annoyed by the woman's incessant "blah, blah, blah." With an exasperated sigh, he reached down, picked up two of the sand-filled buckets, and walked back over to Takuya. The girl's annoyed expression quickly dropped when he approached her, and a soft gasp escaped he grabbed her by her wrist, moving her so that Rukia now stood between her and the baited beach towel.

"Irritating little bitch…" he muttered; then, without even the slightest warning, he reached out and pushed Rukia with just enough force to send her falling straight into the towel.

The female shinigami yelped when the towel gave way beneath her, and shrieked when she found herself lying in a sunken pool of water. As she struggled to pull herself up, Grimmjow and Takuya came into her line of sight. Instinctively, her glare directed itself at Grimmjow

"YOU INSUFFERABLE JERK!" she yelled. "UGH, I cannot _BELIEVE_ this!"

"Believe it, dwarf." the Espada scoffed as he and Takuya suddenly produced the buckets of sand and immediately began dumping them onto the now flailing woman.

In a matter of seconds, Rukia was buried up to her neck in sand, the only visible parts of her body being fractions of her arms and legs. Strings of profanities streamed uncharacteristically from the female shinigami's mouth as she struggled almost in vain to pull herself out of the sandy trap; the sight of it all had caused Grimmjow to immediately burst into laughter for the second time that day, a fact that personally delighted Takuya while it openly enraged Rukia. Her glare had shifted to the ebony-haired girl amidst her seemingly unsuccessful attempt to pull herself up.

"Seriously, Takuya, _seriously_?" she snapped. "I mean really, what the hell! _You're_ not supposed to help him do things like this! _YOU'RE_ supposed to be the _good_ one!"

"Am I now? Hmmm…well then you won't be pleased at all to hear that the earlier "prank" we pulled on you was indeed _my_ idea and not Grimmjow's." Takuya replied.

"Wha…WHAT?"

The ebony-haired girl met Rukia's glare with a vaguely triumphant smile for about a second or so before turning and heading for the water. "Perhaps next time you won't feel it appropriate to take me so very lightly, huh?"

A mix of shock and anger swirled within Rukia's being, so much so that she'd momentarily lost her ability to form words that didn't sound like grunts or growls, and she struggled even more to get out of the water-logged sand trap. "Ugh, LOSERS!"

* * *

"How very relaxing…" Takuya thought aloud as she waded through the water, smiling at its gentle warmth against her skin. "Orihime was right. It is absolutely beautiful out here."

"I couldn't agree more, love." the sudden intrusion of a second, vaguely recognizable voice startled Takuya; hesitating slightly, she turned to see who the owner of the voice was.

A sick feeling arose in her stomach when her gaze fell upon Kazuki, who stood leering at her from about four feet away. Where had he come from?

"That look on your face tells me that you remember who I am." the boy said as he slowly closed the distance between them. "I thought I was seeing things when I happened upon your lovely form wading through the water."

"Perhaps you should pretend that you were just seeing things." Takuya said as she slowly backed away.

"Aww, now why would I do that? After all, I've literally been dreaming about our next encounter since our first meeting on the school rooftop."

"Are you sure it wasn't a nightmare? I don't seem to remember our "first meeting" going so well for you."

Kazuki laughed at this. "No worries. My thoughts of you have long since overpowered any memory of the blue-haired fool who interfered with us that day."

Annoyance mixed in with the nervousness in Takuya's expression. "I'd like to refer to it as a rescue instead of interference."

"Now, now, don't be that way." Kazuki purred, suddenly moving quicker than she'd expected him to and pulling her up against him, his face literally a breath away from hers. "After all, I've been waiting for a second chance to get you like this. Only I'd never pictured it would be like this…alone, and on a beach no less. A rather romantic setting, is it not?"

Takuya cringed, thoroughly disgusted at the boy's failing attempts at seducing her. With all the strength she could muster in her position of limited mobility, she pushed the boy away, his grip on her loosening easily due to the slickness of the water on her body. However, no sooner had she gotten him off of her, he reached out and latched onto her wrist, pulling her against him once again, her back now pressed up against his bare chest. He then wrapped his arm tightly around her waist, much to her chagrin. She quickly turned her head away when his face began closing in on hers once again.

"I'd greatly appreciate it…if you would _go away_." she said amidst her struggle to free herself again. "I told you already….that I am _not interested_."

Kazuki ran the fingers of his free hand lightly over the back of Takuya's neck, and chuckled in an almost mocking manner when he felt her tremble under his touch. "Oh, but you will be. I can assure you of that."

"No…I _won't_. I will _never_ hold any amount of interest for a perverted fool like you. Now let me go…or I swear to you that I _will_ scream."

"Come now, beautiful, just calm down. Let's enjoy this moment we have alone." Kazuki said, his free hand wrapping around her throat and turning her head so that she was looking directly into his face. "Perhaps a little kiss would help you to relax…"

His lips were mere centimeters from hers when a fist suddenly collided brutally with the right side of his face, effective breaking his hold on Takuya and knocking him underwater. Not a second later, a hand reached down, wrapped itself around his throat, and pulled his sputtering form to the surface once again; his heart skipped at least three beats when his eyes finally came to rest on his assailant.

"You again, huh?" Grimmjow muttered, his grip slowly tightening around the boy's neck. "I thought I told you to stay the hell away from her, shithead."

"Where…d-did you come from?" Kazuki forced out.

"My answer to that isn't gonna be of much use to you, kid, especially since you're about to die." Grimmjow replied flatly. "You should be more concerned about the chance of anyone ever finding your body."

Kazuki's eyes widened in stark fear then, and he suddenly began struggling desperately to free himself from the Espada's vice grip. "Wait…wait, please…you don't have to do this! If you let me go right now…I swear I won't ever bother her ever again, ever! I'll even forget she exists…just please…let me live, ok? Please?"

Grimmjow glared at Kazuki, his expression a mix of annoyance and disgust. After a few seconds he released his hold on him, allowing him to drop back down into the water, and almost immediately afterwards, the boy scrambled away as fast as he could, not once looking back. The Espada watched him until he disappeared into the crowds of people further down the coast before turning his attention to Takuya.

"Where the hell did he come from?"

Takuya shrugged, a look of slight disgust still lingering in her expression. "I have no idea. I didn't even see him come up to me when he did."

"You ok?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Thanks."

Grimmjow only grunted in response before turning and heading back to the shore. Hesitating slightly, Takuya followed after him. About a minute of silence drifted between them before the ebony-haired girl began to speak again.

"Grimmjow…"

"What?"

After a second or so passed with no response, Grimmjow glanced over his shoulder at the girl…just in time to see a huge splash of water descending on him, drenching the entirety of his upper body. Takuya reappeared in his line of sight once again, giggling almost hysterically as she started to move pass him.

"Nothing." she managed to say before dissolving into another fit of giggles…and failing to notice the grin spreading across the Espada's face.

Without warning, he retaliated, reaching out and grabbing Takuya before she passed out of his arm's length. Then, in one swift move, he lifted her into the air and tossed her back into the water behind him. His grin broadening victoriously, he continued his trek to the shore. However, after only taking one step, he felt a pair of hands latch onto his ankle and pull, effectively causing him to lose his balance and fall into the water. A second later, Takuya resurfaced with a victorious grin of her own; it was short lived, however, as only a couple seconds after she'd surfaced, bother her legs were swept from under her, eliciting a yelp from the girl as she fell forward into the water once again. A moment or so later, the two resurfaced again and, after catching their breath, continued their trek for the shore.

"That was so much fun." Takuya said, giggling.

Grimmjow stared at the girl briefly before looking straight ahead again, shaking his head. "I think this all this sun is starting to fuck with your brain…all that damn giggling you're doing..."

Takuya laughed at this. "No, I don't think that's it. In fact, I know that's not it."

"Tch, is that so? Then what the hell is it?"

After a few seconds, Takuya's laughter diminished, leaving her only with an unfading smile. "I'm just really happy that you got to have some fun, too. That's all."

Grimmjow's eyes found the girl again, his expression threatening to transform into a defiant one. Takuya met his gaze momentarily before her own attention when to one of her water-logged pigtails; she ran her fingers through it, loosening any tangles that had formed.

"Everyone deserves a little fun every now and then…that includes you as well, Grimmjow." she commented after they'd finally made it to the shore. "I don't think life would be enjoyable if we were always serious about every little thing; that would do more damage to one's brain than laughing, I think."

Grimmjow looked at Takuya for a second longer before shifting his gaze elsewhere. "Tch…damn you and your ability to make perfect sense outta shit."

"Hey you two, the food's ready! Come and eat!" Orihime called to them from further up the shore where everyone else had already begun to gather.

"Coming!" Takuya called back as she and Grimmjow made their way up the shore, rejoining the rest of the group just as they'd started eating.

* * *

The remaining four hours that the group spent at the beach were filled with just as much excitement as there was when they'd first arrived. Orihime, Takuya, and Ururu had successfully built three more large sandcastles, moats included. Ichigo, Renji, and Chad managed to successfully talk Grimmjow into helping them wage a watery war against Tatsuki and Jinta, both of which they were able to splash to oblivion. And Rukia had managed to splash everyone with a bucket of water, a fact that she incessantly boasted about until Ichigo and Renji finally got frustrated with it, and bodily tossed the female shinigami into the ocean just as the group was preparing to leave.

"Ugh, I swear I seriously hate you two sometimes." Rukia muttered, dabbing her face off with a towel as the group made their way back to the van.

"C'mon Rukia…you can't deny that this was the best beach trip ever!" Orihime said cheerily.

The woman released a small sigh. "No, unfortunately I can't. This was a pretty enjoyable trip. We should do this again sometime."

"I agree…we should definitely do this again really soon." Orihime said; she then turned to Takuya. "Well it certainly looks like you enjoyed yourself."

"I did, very much so." Takuya replied with a smile; her gaze shifted over to Grimmjow, who walked a couple steps ahead of her. "I think he had fun today, too."

"Hehe, yeah, I think so, too." Orihime giggled.

After they reached the vehicle, everyone retrieved their clothing and shuffled off to the restrooms to dry off and change. Thirty minutes later, they were back on the road again, headed home. The return trip was a silent one. Orihime had fallen asleep about fifteen minutes in, as did everyone else, save for Takuya, Grimmjow, and Tessai, who'd volunteered to drive home. The silent spell was finally broken, however, when Takuya began to speak.

"It wasn't that bad after all, huh?" she said quietly as she fiddled with the ends of one of her pigtails.

Grimmjow grunted in response, his gaze remaining fixated upon the rapidly moving world outside the van window. A small smile curved the girl's lips.

"It's nice to have fun every now and then." she spoke again, this time with a slight yawn. "It helps you to relax a little."

The Espada brow furrowed slightly, his mind suddenly going back to their little conversation earlier that day. _No promises._ That's what he'd said, and yet somehow, he'd ended up having a decent time…actually having…_fun_. His brow furrowed even more then in slight frustration. _How the hell does she do that?_

Growling slightly, he finally turned his attention to Takuya, just in time to see her lay her head on his shoulder and drift off to sleep a second or so later. The Espada stared blankly at the girl's sleeping form, unsure as to how he should react to this. The urge to push her away flashed momentarily through his mind. How hard could that be? He'd have done exactly that without even the slightest hesitation…had it been anyone else. At that moment, the girl slid a little bit closer to him, sighing contentedly in her sleep. He stared at her a few seconds longer before finally just turning his gaze back out of the window and releasing a frustrated sigh of his own.

_Damn girl…_

_

* * *

_

**The end :D! Many thanks to ObsidianPhantom for her lovely idea. I'm seriously wanting to go to the beach right now, lol! So what'd ya think? Love it? Hate it? Did it end right? ALL opinions welcome, and as always, thanks for reading!**

**xLSx**

**P.S. – Don't forget to give me your ideas for one-shots. I'll keep thinking of ideas, too! :)**


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